


Common Cents

by StrangerStars



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler - Freeform, Child Neglect, Concussions, Deputy Steve Harrington, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Good Parent Jim "Chief" Hopper, Good Parent Joyce Byers, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Loneliness, Past Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Post-Season/Series 02, Season/Series 02 Spoilers, Yeah the title is a pun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-07 20:17:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12848718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangerStars/pseuds/StrangerStars
Summary: Making a will at eighteen seems incredibly morbid. The lawyer stares at him long and hard the entire time. She acts like he's contagious, like she might catch her death from him or maybe he'll ruin her rug by dropping dead in her office. Steve figures she has nothing to worry about. If anything's going to kill him, it's probably going to be a monster from the Upside Down.-In which Steve hunts monsters, becomes a deputy, makes a will, and finds a family. Among other things.





	Common Cents

The last time Steve sees his parents, it's the summer after his fourteenth birthday. They're both going on extended business trips, his mom to Hong Kong and his dad to New York. They hire a nanny named Pearl and leave phone numbers that never actually lead to them. They promise to call him every couple of days. His parents set him up a bank account, teach him how to balance a check book, and promise to be home in a few weeks. 

It's strange how easily that promise slips away. They call to tell him they're both late, that his mom is hung up in Hong Kong and his dad is going to London. They promise to be home for Thanksgiving and put more money in his account. They tell him to buy something nice. Pearl makes his favorite dinner every night for a week and tries to make him smile. She takes him to the movies and the park and lets his friends- Tommy, Carol, and Nick (who moves away and never talks to them again later that year)- come over every night.

Things are fine. 

Thanksgiving comes and goes and it's more excuses, more work, more money in the bank. It takes Steve two years to realize that they're not coming home. That making money might be the only thing that makes his parents happy. The phone calls taper off and Pearl signs all his permission slips, takes him to the doctor, teaches him how to knit. It's not what he wanted, but it's good enough. 

-

It's Tommy and Carol that tell him having a nanny is lame, that his parents are treating him like a baby. He's sixteen, he should be able to stay by himself. Steve doesn't think much of it. On his birthday his mom actually calls and Steve rambles about his life for half an hour. He complains about Tommy and Carol and about what they said. He's just letting off steam. His mom doesn't say much, just hmms and un huhs as Steve tries to catch her up on everything she's missing. He doesn't think about what he says, about how it might sound. His mom hasn't listened to him in nearly two years so he can say anything he wants and it won't matter. 

He wishes that just once she'd be consistent. 

-

Steve cries for two weeks after Pearl leaves. But before she does, she hugs him and says, "you're going to be okay, Steve." She teaches him how to forge his dad's signature and how to work the washing machine. She gives him a stack of cook books and her family's secret recipe for pecan pie. The last thing she does is check the fire alarms and sticks a list of fire safety instructions on the fridge. 

After she leaves, the house feels empty in a way he's never knew it could. Even after his parents left, he had Pearl. Without her, the house is full of echoes and empty spaces. Steve starts leaving the TV on all the time. Laugh tracks and weather reports fill up the space Pearl left behind. 

On the third week, he tries calling his mom. He leaves dozens of messages begging her to hire Pearl again. He becomes well acquainted with her answering machine, with her assistant, with  _"she's in a meeting, but I can give her a message."_ He never gets an answer back. 

On the fourth week Steve writes a check that will empty his bank account down to a cent. He writes Pearl a letter and shoves the check in, begging her to come back. He remembers the word sorry being written half a dozen times. He remembers asking after her sister, her cat, and her two nieces. He tells her that he's getting along alright, that he's been using all the things she taught him.  

The letter comes back unopened.  _Return to Sender_ is scrawled across the front.

Steve doesn't try again. 

-

Steve doesn't tell anyone about Pearl. When people ask after her, he makes up lies and excuses. He doesn't tell anyone about how empty the house is. He doesn't talk about how he's started feeding the neighborhood cats or how there's a bird that pecks at his window in the mornings. He doesn't talk about how he hates grilling but he's pretty decent at baking or that he's only set the fire alarm off twice. He doesn't talk about how he starts swiping his dad's car keys and almost totals the car the first time he drives alone. 

He gets his license and no one asks who drove him to the court house. 

When Tommy and Carol ask if they can come over, Steve tells them no. He says, "my parents are home," and "Pearl isn't feeling well."They accept it most the time. 

He doesn't talk about it because it doesn't matter. He knows what people would think, what they might say. _"P_ _oor little Steve Harrington, all alone in that big house."_   He knows they'd wonder about where his parents were or were Pearl ran off to or how he's doing this by himself. They'd ask questions and think the wrong thing. So Steve fakes it and puts on an act and pretends that nothing bothers him. That nothing matters.  

He becomes popular and easy on the eyes and a basketball star. He spends all the money in his bank on stupid shit and has to wait a few weeks for his dad to deposit more. He drinks an entire bottle of his father's scotch, the one that's been sitting on the edge of his desk for two and a half years. He decides that drinking really isn't for him when he ends up crying for half an hour while he throws up everything in his stomach.

His mom doesn't call on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years. She misses all of them but there's an extra thousand in the bank account. His father's assistant sends a basket of chocolates. The return address is from Seattle. Steve tries calling his mom around July and finds that somewhere between phone calls she's relocated to Sydney. Her assistant gives him the number, but Steve never uses it.

Steve turns seventeen and wonders if anyone would even miss him if he disappeared. 

-

Nancy Wheeler fills up all a room like the sun in the sky. If he was better at metaphors he'd say she's an anchor, the one thing in his life that keeps him from drifting off. Tommy and Carol hate her from the moment she catches his eye, call her,  _"_ nerd _"_ and _"_ slut" and _"_ stuck up bitch" _._ They call her friend Barbara even worse. 

But Steve, Steve wants things to work with Nancy. He's almost desperate for it. In a strange way, she reminds him of Pearl. She makes him feel like a real person. Like a real boy instead of a puppet his parents put up and forgot about. He tries too hard to act like he doesn't care and worries about running her off. He worries about doing the wrong thing and being the wrong person. He fucks it up, he knows he does, but she smiles at him and laughs at his stupidity. She talks about things like chemistry and physics and expects him to use his brain for something besides a space filler. 

Nancy isn't perfect, he knows that.  But sometimes it feels like she's as close to perfection as a person can get and he knows he's setting himself up for disaster. He's asking too much of her and it's not fair to her, to have all these expectations. He tries to make room in his idea of Nancy for who she really is. He makes room for her brother Mike and her friend Barbara and for studying. He knows his picture of her is still rose tinted, but at least it's closer to reality.

Steve reminds himself everyday that he should be grateful that she lets him in her life at all. 

-

Barbara goes missing and Tommy and Carol reach a level of apathy that Steve use to strive for. It makes his stomach churn. Steve breaks a camera and writes shitty things on the wall and becomes the bastard he always figured he'd end up being. Nancy leaves- like he always feared she would- and Steve ends up taking a long hard look at himself. 

This is not the person he wants to be. The person Tommy and Carol want him to be, the one he's manufactured just to keep people from noticing, is pretty shitty. For the first time in years, he thinks that maybe he's become his parents. Because if there's one thing they do best, it's forget to care. 

So he goes to apology. Not just because he was wrong and Jonathan deserves an apology. Not just because he's losing Nancy and maybe being a better person will let him keep her as a friend. Not because Pearl would have wanted him to. Not even because it's what Tommy and Carol and his parents could never bring themselves to do. 

He goes to apologize because the person he wants to be would do it. Buried deep beneath all the bullshit is a person who apologizes when he's wrong and cares about things, about  _people._ It's a person that he never should have pretended didn't exist. 

He goes. 

And then there's a gun pointed at his face and every reason in the world to leave Nancy and Jonathan Byers behind, to run for his own life. Later, he'll realize that he's the only one caught up in all this bullshit that doesn't have a reason to be there. They're all there for their family or their friends or because it's their job. Nancy isn't his girlfriend, his family, or his even his friend in that moment. He cares about her but she's made it abundantly clear that she _does not_ want him there. 

He goes back anyway. He goes back and fights a  _fucking_ monster and manages to keep Jonathan and Nancy alive. He goes back and for once in his life he's in the right place at the right time. For once, he does the right thing without anyone else telling him what it's suppose to be. 

The fire leaves afterimages behind and he's pretty sure he tore something in his shoulder. He has nightmares for months afterwards and his world view has been shaken to its core. But Nancy starts talking to him again and he replaces Jonathan's camera. Tommy and Carol fuck off to wherever people like them go. 

Steve's lonelier than he's ever been but at least this time he can stand his own company. 

-

Steve and Nancy get back together. They spend Christmas together and then New Years. Steve signs so many papers for the government that his hand cramps. He and Jonathan Byers don't talk. Nancy's little brother Mike starts acting weird. Steve's house remains empty, the bank account full, and his parents missing. 

Life goes on. 

-

A year. That's all the time he gets before things fall apart. Not that they were very good to begin with. 

Steve and Nancy visit Barbara's parents every week. Steve gets the pool filled in and paved over. Steve keeps his head down and steers clear of his old friends. He worries about the future, the present, the past. He wants out of this town and out of this life but some part of him tells him it'll never happen. 

Things are difficult. King Steve is dead but not a lot of people got the memo. There's the nightmares and that nagging thought that maybe things aren't really over. Things aren't great but they're not awful. 

And then Nancy won't stop drinking and won't stop talking and won't stop tearing him into pieces. "You're bullshit," she slurs. " _Bullshit."_

Here Steve thought he was being better. He thought he was proving to her that he did care, that he cared a whole hell of a lot. Sure, he still pretends like all this shit can't touch him, but it's not like he has a choice. It's either pretend or fall apart. He thought that after a year she'd be able to see that. 

(She's not perfect, he reminds himself. If she were, she wouldn't need to get drunk before she could say this shit to his face.) 

His eyes burn and he can't look at her. He leaves her in the bathroom and passes Jonathan on the way out. He knows that he'll take care of Nancy, that he doesn't even have to ask. He goes out to his car and leaves all the _bullshit_ behind. 

He drives around for hours. He wishes he had drank more at the party and wishes he hadn't gone at all. He turns off the radio because every song seems to be about Nancy and the ones that aren't seem pointless. Steve ends up near an abandoned strip mall, the one that failed to pass the inspection three years ago and never even opened. He gets out the bat he stole from Jonathan Byers' house and breaks the lock on the door. 

He paces the empty mall, only half finished and filled with forgotten supplies. He thinks about breaking a couple windows or knocking down some of the half constructed walls. He finds a can of paint and remembers  _Nancy Wheeler is a slut_ painted on the theater sign. His stomach twists with shame. 

He doesn't do anything. He finds a nice place to sit right beside the fountain that never even got hooked up to the water system. There's a skylight above it and there's not a star in the sky. For a moment, he wonders if there's any stars in that Upside Down place that he's heard Mike talk about. He doesn't know much about space and he doesn't know any of their names, but he knows stars have defined humanity for a very long time. It feels stupid to wonder if the lack of stars could play an equally important role in the Upside Down. 

It's close to one in the morning when he goes home. He turns on all three TVs and every stereo and record player in the house. He bakes Pearl's secret family recipe and eats half of it by himself. He'll eat the rest for breakfast because who's going to stop him? The house is full of noise and he keeps telling himself that it's better than nothing. 

Most things are. 

-

It doesn't dawn on him until after Nancy has run off with Byers that he has literally no one left. He's fought a  _fucking monster_ but this is so much scarier. He's almost forgotten what it feels like to be unmoored or whatever stupid metaphor he used before. 

That same old thought resurfaces. If he disappeared, like Will and Barbara had, would anyone even notice? Would anyone even bother to look? 

Steve sits in his car after school and fights for every breath. Billy Hargrove slaps the hood of his car and scares the shit out of him. Steve has his hand on the door handle before he realizes it doesn't matter. His chest tightens painfully and his hands shake and it doesn't matter. He sits back down and when Billy speeds past Steve flips him off. Billy's little sister gives him a look that he doesn't understand. 

Steve cranks the car and thinks. He knows Nancy doesn't love him. He knows that he's bullshit. He  _knows._ But, and he hates himself for the thought, he'd rather be with someone who doesn't love him than no one at all. 

-

He buys flowers and decides to apologize. His nails bite into his hand until it hurts. He has to remind himself that Nancy is more important than pride. Apathetic Steve wouldn't care about all this. But the Steve he wants to be probably wouldn't come crawling back either. That Steve would give it at least a week first. But Steve cares and Steve isn't the person he wants to be. So, flowers. 

Except Nancy isn't home and that Henderson kid takes his roses. He trails after Dustin and before he knows it there's another monster on the loose. He gets his bat, the one he never leaves at home, and steps in front when Dustin points into the storm cellar. There's no monster but there's skin and a hole. There's the knowledge that this thing is going to kill people if they don't stop it.

Dustin and Steve agree to meet the next morning. Steve sleeps fitfully, all the lights in the house turned on and a chair shoved in front of his bedroom door. The bat lays propped against his beside table. 

The roses wilt inside his car overnight. When he goes to pick up Dustin he chunks them in the trash and forgets about them. 

Nancy still isn't home and all of Dustin's friends seem to be missing. Steve wonders if they've all run for the hills and wonders why he and Dustin aren't doing the same. But Dustin is insistent and there's no way Steve's letting a kid chase after monsters by himself. 

When Billy's sister shows up along with Lucas Sinclair, Steve rephrases. There's definitely no way in hell Steve's letting  _three_ kids chase after monsters by themselves. 

-

There's more than one monster. If he had known, he would have put his foot down. He would have sent them all home and come by himself. But he didn't know and there's more than one. He's only got one bat but three kids to protect. When one creature tries coming in through the roof, he puts himself between it and them. His shoulder twinges and he has a vivid moment of recollection of that night nearly a year ago. He should have know the same plan wouldn't work twice. He can almost hear Nancy shouting and Jonathan struggling to catch his breath. 

Steve brandishes the bat and stares up into a face full of teeth. Dustin, Lucas, and Max hide behind him, clinging to each other and the hope that he can keep them safe. It's almost funny. Max has known him for less then a handful of hours, Lucas and Dustin only in passing for a few years. He's never actually  _talked_ to any of them before today. But here they all are, three kids trusting him to protect them and Steve willing to do whatever it takes to make sure he does. 

What is it about Steve Harrington and facing down monsters for other people? 

But then the creatures leave and they're all safe for the moment. Steve herds the kids back to the car, not that they're arguing. At least not with him. They're halfway back when Dustin and Lucas start shouting at each other and Steve hears it. He follows the noise, three teenage ducklings following behind him, and they see where it is the creatures ran off too. 

And like a bunch of idiots they head towards it instead of running the other way. 

-

Later, Steve says, "it's okay, Nance," and means it. It still hurts like hell but the terror of being alone is slightly overshadowed by all the fucking monsters running around and the potential end of the world. He's got slightly bigger things to worry about than crushing loneliness and total social isolation. He's got a fourth kid to look after and a demo-dog to dispose of. 

He can panic later. 

-

Billy. Fucking. Hargrove. 

Steve's never been his biggest fan but the second he goes after Lucas he earns himself a place on Steve's shitlist for life. Beating the shit out of Steve is really just icing on the cake. 

Steve doesn't regret stepping between them though. He would even do it again. (Though hopefully without all the messy concussion business.) When Steve had said he'd do anything to protect the kids, he'd meant it. He just really wishes the universe hadn't taken that as a challenge and replied, "prove it." 

-

Steve would rather take on another demogorgon than _ever_ ride in a car with Max driving again. Going down into the tunnels after that nightmare is easy. Setting the place ablaze-and don't think he doesn't notice how his part in this whole mess always ends with blood on his face, a bat in his hand, and something being set on fire- is easy. He nearly has a heart attack when Mike starts screaming and it doesn't prove to be another false alarm. But he's there in time and Mike isn't hurt. 

The tunnels start to shake and they find the rope. He gets Max, then Lucas, then Mike up and outside. There's not enough time to get Dustin out, so he puts himself in front and waits. The demo-dogs come-

And then they keep going. Steve doesn't waste another second getting Dustin and himself out. 

The lights flare and then go out. The tunnel withers up and finally-  _finally-_ it's all over. 

He wonders if he's the only one that doesn't really believe that. 

-

The wooziness returns as he's driving the kids back to the Byers' house. He had shaken it off earlier because the shitheads were dead set on running headfirst into danger. (By shaken off, he means pumped full of adrenaline and didn't notice.) Without imminent danger, Steve's barely clinging on. They're the first back and Steve ends up leaning against the door as the kids drag Billy out of the house. They stuff him into his car and Max tells him to fuck off until he does just that. As Billy turns out of the driveway another car swings in. 

The kids run off to see their friend and Steve has all of three seconds of peace before he's getting sick on the Byers' front lawn. It's just bile and that glass of water he chugged after stuffing the demo-dog in the fridge. But oh boy does it hurt coming back up. His ribs ache and his jaw hurts. He's pretty sure he's trying to throw up his actual stomach. He braces his hands on his knees and dry heaves for what feels like hours. A hand settles on his shoulder to keep him from pitching forward. 

"Let's get you inside." Joyce Byers urges with a touch gentle. 

Steve sniffles pitifully and lets her guide him into the house. She plonks him down on a seat and Steve must really be out of it because when he blinks there's another unconscious child in the room and Hopper is kneeling in front of him.

"Come on, kid. Let's get you checked out." 

"I'm good," he protests and fights when Hopper tries to haul him out of the chair. He's tired and he's pretty sure he's earned the right to rest. 

"You can rest once we make sure your brain isn't going to leak out of your ears." Hopper is firm and unbending and Steve kind of wants to hit him. 

"But the kids," Steve tries, going from fighting to clinging to Hooper when his legs become shaky.

"They'll be fine. It'll only take a few minutes," Hopper promises like a lying liar. 

"Okay," Steve agrees because cops always tell the truth, right? 

It doesn't take a few minutes. It takes nearly four hours and that's Hawkins Hospital on a good night. They try to call his parents and he ends up laughing so hard he throws up again. Hopper is much less amused by the whole ordeal, but he sticks by him the entire time. Steve absolutely refuses to stay overnight and threatens to- stupidly- call the police is they try to hold him. That gets a smile out of Hopper. 

It's nearly three in the morning when they get back to the Byers' house. It looks completely different than when he left. Someone has cleaned up and a linen closet has apparently upchucked all over the living room. Someone else has boarded up the window. No one besides Will and Eleven are asleep, even though everyone looks exhausted. Steve finds the nearest soft spot and crawls onto it. He's there for less than a minute before he's got three teenagers plastered to his sides, Max and Lucas on one and Dustin on the other. 

He's pretty sure the hospital forced some kind of pain medication down his throat. It's the only way to explain why he doesn't even attempt to push them away. He lets their voices wash over him and lets them curl up against him. It's not the most comfortable and when one of them throws an arm over him Steve wheezes in pain. But it's warm, he's got three of his stupid children close enough to touch, and the fourth is safely squashed between Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper. 

If he keeps collecting kids at this rate, he's sure Will and Eleven will soon join their ranks. For the moment though everyone is as safe and Steve is too exhausted to think. He falls asleep with someone snoring in his ear and someone elses' foot is nudging his own. 

-

He wakes up when Mrs. Byers opens the the fridge to make breakfast and a demo-dog falls out on top of her. The shouting rouses the whole house, even Will. Steve stumbles into the kitchen after Hopper but before Nancy, takes one look at the ruined quilt, and returns to the nest of blankets. He plants his face into them and refuses to move. He listens with amusement as the kids carefully manage to throw him under the bus.

"Who did this?" Mrs. Byers demands and she sounds just shy of furious. 

"Well, technically Steve did," Dustin starts. 

"Was this before or after the concussion?" 

"Before," Lucas pitches in rather unhelpfully. "But Dustin put him up to it." 

" _Why?_ '" 

"Science." 

"Well you better science up a way to get rid of this thing before it starts stinking up the house." 

The chatter is nice and Steve dozes to the sound. There's no cheesy laugh tracks at odd moments, no faux emotions. He listens to the kids struggle to get the demo-dog out of the house and Joyce mourning her kitchen. Hopper clatters about as he makes coffee. Sometime later the kids troop back inside and sprawl out across the floor near him. Eleven gets taught how to play black jack, gold fish, and old maid. Breakfast is served on paper plates and consist mostly of eggs and bacon that Steve hopes wasn't stashed next to the demo-dog. 

Steve teaches the kids to play poker, even if his head is a little foggy from the pain medication they had prescribed for his ribs. Nancy and Jonathan take turns correcting him when he tells the wrong rules. He's not sure if it's the pain medication or if it's the dizzying realization that he's alive that puts him in a good mood. Either way he ends up laughing like an idiot when Mike tries to explain bluffing to Eleven. 

Eleven gives him a small smile though and it's okay. 

It's all okay. 

-

Eventually they all go home. Steve stands in his foyer and hates it. The house is warm and toasty, the thermostat set to a comfortable 72 degrees. It's clean, so clean it's like no one even lives here. The quiet should be relieving after being surrounded by a bunch of loud children but all Steve can do is hate it too. 

Steve goes to turn on the TV and changes his mind. Instead he goes to the grocery store where people stare at him and wonder what the hell happened to his face. He finds the cakes and wonders why there's no " _Congratulations on Adverting the Apocalypse!"_ ones. He ends up buying an ice cream cake and then drives over to Dustin's. He doesn't even have to bribe his way inside using the cake. Not then or any of the times after. 

-

Bob Newby's funeral is on a Saturday, a week after the military finally arrive to destroy all the evidence inside the lab. Steve doesn't know what lies Hopper tells but no one comes demanding he sign more papers. Joyce struggles through preparations, through putting the announcement in the paper, through people saying, "I'm so sorry for your loss," and, "he was a good man." 

When the bill for the funeral arrives it's already been paid in full. Joyce calls up the funeral home, the preacher, and the hearse driver. Each of them say, "it's been taken care of." 

Steve knows Joyce cries about it. Will tells Dustin who tells him. Joyce doesn't have any idea who paid for the funeral and Steve would like to keep it that way. 

-

Steve pulls the funeral director off to the side after Barbara's mother has laid down her rose and left. Nancy came with Jonathan and leaves the same way. She brushes Steve's arm on her way past and Steve feels her take a piece of him with her. He ignores it and watches as people slowly drift away. 

"Has the funeral already been paid for?" He asks quietly, watching as people start throwing dirt on an empty coffin. Barb at least deserved to be laid to rest in her own dimension. With the gate closed, she's truly lost forever. 

"The military is footing this one," the funeral director assures him. 

Steve nods and keeps watching as the hole fills up. "Good." 

"We have another funeral on Tuesday if you're feeling generous," the man jokes. 

Steve doesn't smile. It's not funny. Nothing about this situation is. None of this should have happened. There's so many ifs that all lead to different outcomes, but they it all comes down to one thing: if those bastards had never tormented a bunch of little girls, none of this would have ever happened. There wouldn't be back to back funerals. There wouldn't be children missing childhoods. There wouldn't be a lot of things, most of them bad. If they hadn't, the world would be a very different place. 

In that different world, Eleven grows up as Jane, an ordinary child with an ordinary mom. In that world Will makes it home that night and every night after. Joyce gets remarried to a good man and maybe even moves her family to Maine. Barbara goes off to college with Nancy, who never looks twice at Steve Harrington. Maybe that Steve sticks it out with Tommy and Carol. Maybe the break is inevitable. But in that world, Steve doesn't have a bunch of children that stick to him like glue. Because _that_ Steve never fought monsters, never risked his life to protect someone, never stared down the end of the world. That Steve ends up completely alone, just like he always feared. Maybe he leaves Hawkins to be alone somewhere else. Maybe he lets Hawkins eat him up and he becomes that bastard he caught a glimpse of all those months ago. 

But Steve lives in this world. And it might have monsters and crazy government officials, but it's also has a group of brats that Steve's rather fond of. 

Of the two Steves, this Steve is pretty sure he's the lucky one. 

-

Christmas comes and with it the Snow Ball. The children are adorable, but Steve firmly keeps that thought to himself. When the children come spilling out, Steve makes an offhanded comment about a 24/7 diner and free food. Hopper and Joyce don't stand a chance against six eager teenagers and Steve doesn't feel guilty at all. 

They end up waiting for Jonathan and Nancy before they head out. Steve still misses her, but he's starting to think he misses her more as a friend than a girlfriend. She's happy though, he can see it in the way she lights up when Jonathan is nearby. The kids all pile into Steve's car, minus Eleven and Mike who ride together with Hopper. 

When they get to the diner it's almost entirely empty. They quickly change that and end up pushing a couple of tables together. The waitress knows Hopper and watches him like a hawk the entire time, like he's going to dine and dash. Steve catches her on one of the rounds around the table and claims the bill before anyone else can think about pitching in. She gives him a look and then a small smile when he offers her a rather large tip. 

The kids all order breakfast for dinner. Pancakes and waffles litter the table, right along with several types of syrup and a can of whip topping. Dustin turns the can up and empties it into his mouth. Joyce gets a burger and shares a pot of coffee with Hopper. Jonathan and Nancy share a milkshake and when they're not looking Will makes gagging gestures behind their backs. Steve almost snorts coke out of his nose and Max beats him half to death trying to help him. 

Eleven tries both the pancakes and the waffles and declares them, "almost as good as Eggos." 

The kids talk about the dance and gossip about who danced with who. Steve listens, but they're talking about a bunch of thirteen year olds. All the thirteen year olds Steve knows are sitting at his table, so it mostly goes over his head. But if he ever wants dirt on a bunch of tiny teenagers, he knows where to get it from. 

Everyone eats themselves silly and Steve wonders how he's going to get everyone home in time for curfew. When the waitress comes to get the plates, Steve orders a coffee and goes to the counter to watch her make it. When she slides it to him, he writes out a check for the food and slips her a couple bills to cover the tip. She grins at him and gives him a cookie on the house. 

Steve returns to the table and finds several wired children watching him. He had hoped for food comas but instead finds them all buzzing on sugar. Steve bundles them off to the cars, pretending not to hear Joyce inquiring about the bill. 

"Uh, Steve," Dustin says as Steve propels him out the door. "The bill?" 

"I already paid for it," Steve hisses quietly, but not low enough to prevent Max and Lucas from hearing. 

"Dude, are you loaded?" Max asks, craning her neck to stare up at him.  

"Not after that meal." 

The kids take it at face value and climb into the car. Steve waves to Joyce and Hopper, leading Will, Mike, and Eleven out, Jonathan and Nancy not far behind. They all split off into separate groups and Steve decides it's rather late. No reason to stick around for awkward small talk or anyone insisting on paying their part of the bill. 

Or asking how he's paying for it instead. 

The kids roll down the windows and shout goodbyes as he backs out of the parking spot. Steve drives away slowly and only starts rolling the windows up on the kids when the others are too far away to be heard. The kids all settle back into their seats with red, windblown faces. Steve cranks up the heater and drives them all home the slow way. 

He drops off Max last. Before she gets out she turns and asks, "since you're loaded, that means I'm getting a Christmas present, right?" 

"Get out of my car, you little shit," Steve answers, ruffling her hair. 

She scowls at him and slams the door when she gets out. When she gets on the porch, she flips him off and sticks out her tongue. He returns the gesture and laughs at her over the top scandalized expression. He drives off thinking about what he can get her. The problem quickly morphs when he realizes he's going to have to get everybody something. 

Well fuck. 

-

Christmas Eve arrives. Steve hands out half a dozen gift certificates with promises that, "yes, I'll drive you to the store later." He gives Nancy and Jonathan tickets to a concert in March. Joyce and Hopper get matching gift baskets, mostly because Steve runs out of ideas. Everybody seems pleased, so he calls it a win. 

The kids give him a metal bat with barbwire wrapped around the top. 

"This one can't break," Dustin explains. 

"Well it could-" Mike starts to disagree. Will nudges him hard in the side. 

"The other one is starting to crack where the nails are," Lucas comments easily. 

"It's just in case," Eleven explains when he stares at them all. 

That Steve can understand. 

Max's smile is a little creepy when she says, "you can always use it on Billy if no monsters show up." 

Steve puts the bat in his trunk. He keeps the old one too, even if it is getting a little brittle at the top. He wonders if there will ever be a day when he won't carry them with him. It doesn't seem likely. 

Nancy and Jonathan give him a new lighter. It's engraved with his name on it. He runs his thumb over it again and again. Is his old one still inside the tunnels? Or did it burn up too? 

Joyce gives him an invitation to Christmas dinner. Hopper gives him babysitting duty. Both are better than what he had planned on doing. 

Steve spends Christmas morning with Eleven while Hopper goes in for half a day of work. He brings a bunch of movies and lets her eat as many Eggos as she wants. Hopper gives her more gifts than she knows what to do with. Steve takes the time to explain them all to her, even if he's not the best person for the job. One of the things Hopper had gotten was a stack of encyclopedias. (Steve's never seen a kid happy about getting what amounts to textbooks before. He can understand it though. Hopper's just given her a glimpse into a world she's been denied her whole life. He's given her a way to understand it. It's a pretty damn good gift.) What Steve can't explain, they look up together. 

Hopper gets back a little after twelve. Eleven hugs him and shows him the passage on volcanoes they had been reading. Before Steve leaves, Eleven hugs him too and makes him promise to come visit her. A glance at Hopper and he agrees. He leaves the two person family to their cozy little Christmas and drives out to the Byers; house. 

Dinner is kind of awkward. Jonathan and Steve don't really talk all that much but even so, it's more than they probably ever have before. They both use Joyce and Will to keep the conversation moving. After, Steve helps Joyce clean up the kitchen while Will and Jonathan hang out in the living room. 

"Do your parents not celebrate Christmas?" Joyce asks while they wash dishes. 

Steve hesitates and then shrugs. He doesn't know if they do or not. They probably do office Christmas parties, if they do anything. Steve hasn't celebrated Christmas at home since Pearl left. The holidays immediately after had consisted of him, pecan pie, and every Christmas special on TV. The ones after that had been with Nancy. 

Joyce changes the subject. "Do you want to take some leftovers home?"

Steve jumps on the chance and watches as she pulls out some old Cool Whip containers. It makes Steve smile. Joyce's kitchen has a lived in feel to it. It has personal touches and little quirks that make it feel like a home. One of the shelves is still crooked from where Billy shoved Lucas against it and the refrigerator has been swapped for a slightly older model. (At least this one has never had a dead monsters in it.)  Steve envies Joyce for her kitchen and doesn't really understand why. 

Steve heads towards the door a little after five and gets his second hug of the day. 

"Come back for New Years, okay? We always do fireworks." Joyce tells him while she squeezes the life out of him. It's a very Mom hug. 

Steve puts his arms around her slowly. Her hair tickles his nose and smells like coconut. Steve's throat gets tight. "I'll bring a pie," he finds himself saying. 

"As long as you bring yourself." She pulls back and pats him on the arm, giving him a soft smile. "Drive safe, Steve." 

Steve stutters out a reassurance, gets his leftovers, and leaves. He doesn't know what it is about those hugs, but they leave a warmth inside him that he carries with him all the home. When he gets there, he turns on the radio and looks through all the cookbooks until he finds a new pie recipe. 

-

Everyone gathers at the Byers' for New Years. Steve brings three different pies, all of which mysteriously disappear before dinner. Left in their places are several empty pie tins and a cluster of dirty forks. The kids don't each much dinner and Steve stares at them suspiciously all through it. Afterwards, Steve helps Joyce in the kitchen again. He dries the dishes and leaves them in stacks on the counter to be put up by somebody else. 

"The apple one was good," Joyce comments out of the blue and Steve stares at her while a slow smile curls her mouth up. 

Steve's pretty sure the whole house is conspiring against him.  

It's dark when they call gather outside. Hopper sits by with a fire extinguisher while Jonathan lights up the fireworks. Steve isn't sure why, considering there's snow all over the ground. Hopper doesn't deem the question worthy of an answer. 

The first firework is green and Eleven nearly jumps out of her skin. She ducks back onto the porch, pulling Mike along with her. The second is red and her eyes widen in wonder. By the fourth she's back out on the lawn with the rest of the kids, staring up in amazement. When the big ones are gone, Steve fishes a pack of sparklers out of his trunk and lights them up with is new lighter. El writes her name in the air, first  _Eleven,_  then _El,_  then _Jane._

Lucas and Dustin try to fight each other and Steve sets them on opposites sides of the yard. They both roll their eyes at him. When all the sparklers have burned down, Steve gets roped into showing Eleven how to make snow angels. 

"If my fingers fall off, I'm going to strangle each and every one of you," Steve threatens, but lets himself get shoved into a snow bank. 

"How you going to do that without fingers?" Max sasses back. 

Will dumps snow on her head to defend Steve's honor. Steve's snow angel is lost when all the kids start flinging about half formed snowballs. Nancy and Jonathan get pulled in and they all divide into teams of threes. Mike, Nancy, and Eleven win but only because Eleven sends the snow gathered on the roof raining down on the rest of them.

Hopper leaves with Eleven near ten. Nancy takes Max home before going herself. The boys pull out a bunch of sleeping bags and claim the living room floor. An hour later, Steve falls asleep on the couch. No one bothers to wake him up or to make him go home. 

-

Winter passes. Spring comes and then summer. Steve graduates high school and the kids middle school. Everyone tries to get him to go to his graduation ceremony, but Steve refuses. He doesn't want to explain why his parents aren't there. He has better things to do anyway. He gets his diploma and takes everyone out to dinner. He doesn't even get the chance to head off the bill before Joyce and Hopper snatch it from him. 

"It's your gradation party," Joyce tells him sternly. 

Hopper pats his shoulder. "We've got this one, kid."

"So what are you going to do now?" The kids ask. 

Steve doesn't have a fucking clue. 

-

"Listen," Hopper says nearly two weeks later. "Flo is retiring soon. You can come work with me if you want. It's not exactly exciting work, but it's something to do." 

"I'll think about it." Steve says, but doesn't really have to. 

He signs the paperwork over the weekend and gives it to Hopper on Monday. He tells the kids, "I swear to god, if you dickheads get yourself killed while I'm gone, I'll bring you back and murder you myself." 

"Chill, Steve," Dustin says to him. "We'll be fine." 

Steve doesn't believe him at all. 

-

Steve's never been a great student but he's also never had a reason to do well either. He realizes three days in that he's going to worry the entire time he's gone. Three months seems like a very long to be away from the kids. He figures he can either drop out and run back to Hawkins or he can get things done as quickly as possible. 

He talks to his instructors and all but begs for an accelerated course. They all have a ridiculously small class size, so maybe that helps. He's not sure what convinces them, or what strings get pulled, but they allow it. He takes on way more course work than he should and does more exercises than he's ever done in his life. He barely sleeps at all but he finishes in two months instead of three. 

He packs up as soon as he's turned in the last test. He gets caught by one of his instructors, who shakes his hand and says, "you're going to be a fine officer." 

Steve slips away as soon as he can and puts the little academy in his rear-view mirror. He speeds, which probably isn't the first thing he should do after getting certified as a police officer but he really doesn't care. He doesn't slow down until he passes the  _Welcome to Hawkins!_ sign and sees the town's still in one piece. He was almost expecting it to have burned to the ground while he was gone. 

It takes Steve ages to track down the children. Well, in reality it takes about an hour. Steve stops by his house long enough to dump his things before he heads over to the Henderson house. Mrs. Henderson' car is in the lot, but Dustin's bike is gone. 

She lets out a surprised squeak when she opens the door and nearly takes his head off when she hugs him. The cat squirms between them, little claws digging into his chest. Mrs. Henderson chatters right in his ear, dragging him into the house. She pushes cookies on him, which he eats slowly. 

"Where's Dustin?" He ask when she gets done updating him on Mews 2.0. 

"He's at the Byers' house. His little friend- Max?- is having her birthday party there." 

Steve stares at her and quickly asks if he can use the phone. He calls the Byers, listening as the phone rings and rings. He doesn't give the person that answers even a second to speak. 

"What does Max want for her birthday?' 

" _Who is- Steve?"_ Jonathan asks, voice rising at the end. 

"Shut the fuck up, Byers." Steve hisses. "You're going to ruin the surprise. Now tell me what she wants." 

" _I- give me a second. Dustin! Come here._ " There's a lot of noise on the other end, then, " _is there anything that Max wanted that she hasn't gotten for her birthday?"_  

Dustin's voice is small and fuzzy on the other side. " _I don't know, man. I think she wanted one of those CD players but she was worried Billy would break it._ " 

" _Okay, thanks._ " There's a moment pause before Jonathan comes back on. " _You get that?"_

_"_ Yeah. Can you keep the kids there for about an hour?" 

_"I don't think I could get rid of them."_

"Okay, good. See you soon." 

" _Wait, aren't you suppose to be-"_

Steve hangs up. There's a bit of difficulty escaping the Henderson house, but eventually he manages. He stops by Radio Shack and buys the newest, smallest model he can find. It's still pretty big, but he figures she'll love it no matter what. He doesn't have any idea what kind of music Max likes, so he buys a couple of CDs as well. He asks for a couple extra bags, enough to obscure what's inside. 

There's quite a few cars in the yard when he pulls up. Steve parks behind Jonathan, figuring he's least likely to leave first. He's not sure what they're doing inside, but it's loud enough that he can hear it through the door. He has to knock a couple of times and is debating just walking in when Will pulls open the door. 

"Steve!" Will shouts and Steve notices that in the two months he's been gone, Will's grown a few inches. Mostly he notices because Will uses those new found inches to become an octopus. 

"Steve?" Someone asks as Will finally lets him go. 

He gets only a few seconds before Max screams, "dude!" and punches him in the stomach. 

Steve gasps and grabs her. It's more of a strangle attempt then a hug, but she grins up at him during it. 

"What are you doing here?" Mike demands, grabbing him and dragging him further into the house. 

"Crashing this party, since _someone,"_ he glares at all gathered, "forgot to tell me about it." 

"You were busy," Max explains, biting her lip. 

"I'm never that busy, you little shit. Now take your present and fetch me a piece of cake." 

Max takes the gift but forgets about the cake. While she's tearing through the bags, Dustin sidles up to him. 

"You didn't drop out, did you?" He sounds more worried than disapproving. Steve crams his hat down on his head. 

"No, doofus. I didn't drop out. Or fail," he adds when he sees the look. 

"What did you do?" Lucas asks. 

"I finished early." 

"Well how did you do that, Mr. Genius?" Lucas continues. 

"I slept with all the professors," Steve says with a roll of his eyes. 

Someone punches him in the side and Joyce saves him before a bunch of soon-to-be high schoolers can beat him up. 

"Congratulations," Joyce tells him with a smile. 

Jim toasts him with a cup of coffee. "Come by the station tomorrow and we can finish the rest of the paperwork." 

Nancy and Jonathan pull him off to the side later on. 

"I'm glad you found something you want to do," Nancy says, hugging him. 

Steve stands stiffly before slowly returning it. When she pulls away, Jonathan shakes his hand like an adult. Steve feels weird abut the whole thing. 

"I'm glad you'll be able to look out for the kids." Jonathan says, but doesn't say, " _when me and Nancy leave for school."_

It reminds Steve of that night he left Nancy at the party. He didn't have to ask Jonathan then, and Jonathan doesn't have to ask him now. They just know the other will do it. He and Jonathan might never be best friends, but they understand each other well enough. 

"I'm more worried about what they'll do to me when Hopper gets me some of those lights." Steve jokes. 

It's not long before the kids are sweeping him off to do something or another. Max makes fun of one of the CDs he bought her, but seems pleased at another. He manages to steal the last piece of cake before anyone else can get it. He licks his fork and feels like he's won something. No one else seems all that impressed but they haven't been living on academy food for eight weeks. 

-

Flo retires a two weeks early and Steve officially becomes a deputy. Or, in this case, a glorified secretary. He mostly just answers the phone and files paperwork. He's not even required to carry a firearm, though Hopper insists. 

"You have no idea when you might need it." 

Steve starts keeping a lock box in his trunk. When he's off duty he always makes sure to stash the gun away. He's not sure how Hopper ever became comfortable with it. Mostly, Steve just hates having it around the kids. He trusts them not to do anything stupid, but why tempt fate? 

-

August comes and with it the busiest time of Steve's life. High school was nothing like this. Steve works the phone and quickly learning that Ms. Wilson calls about  _every single fucking thing._ Hawkins is small and apparently doesn't produce enough drama so the locals decided to make their own. If only they knew. 

When he's not working, he's driving the kids somewhere. They mostly ride their bikes to school, except when it rains or they just don't want to. Eleven loves high school with a passion that boggles Steve's mind. It's the encyclopedias all over again. She even loves the homework. Maybe Steve just took the normality of school for granted. He keeps most of his thoughts on this to himself.

On Saturdays Hopper drags him to the gun range to keep his skills sharp. He thinks Nancy might still be a better shot. 

In the midst of it all, Sunday dinners become a thing. He's not sure how, but suddenly Joyce's dining room is consistently being crowded into and the kids are hogging all the good stuff. He has vague memories of family dinners and that he had never enjoyed them. Dinner with Pearl had been nice, if quiet. These are what he imagines a real family dinner would be like. Everyone talking, sharing their days and their thoughts. Maybe they fight over food, but it's playful and there's no hard feelings at the end. Yeah, they knock elbow at such a little table but it's cozy. 

Those dinners become his favorite thing in his hectic schedule. 

-

Hopper takes Steve out on a couple calls. They're nothing big, just little things like some kids- not his thankfully- trespassing or a case of vandalism. Steve doesn't have to do anything but stand there and look intimidating. When Steve's away from the phones, Leo covers for him. Steve's pretty sure Leo would switch jobs with him entirely if Hopper would let him. 

The first call Steve goes on by himself ends with Steve getting punched in the face. The old guy, drunk off his ass and surly as hell, ends up being taken to the hospital instead of lock up. He's charged with a misdemeanor and Steve casually forgets to mention the reason he has a black eye. Getting beaten up by an old man would completely destroy his reputation. This way, they both win. 

The first person Steve arrests is a Hargrove. Just not he one he had expected. 

The call comes in a few minutes before his shift ends. He answers the phone while he's on his feet, already edging towards the door. He doesn't recognize the woman who calls but as she tells him her neighbors' address his blood runs cold. He hangs up as quick as he can and shouts for Leo to take over. 

The entire drive there, his heart is in his mouth. The fight has spilled out onto the front lawn by then and he can see several neighbors peering between window blinds. Susan and Max stand on the porch, their arms around each other. Susan's eye is just starting to swell. He catches sight of Max's wide eyes and pale complexion and wonders if he could get out of a murder charge. 

Neither Billy nor his father listen when Steve starts shouting at them to part. Neil gets Billy flat on his back before Steve steps in. Steve wrestles Neil Hargrove onto the grass and cuffs him two feet from his son. Billy staggers to his feet and Steve sends him a warning look when Billy edges closer to try to get a kick in. 

Neil gets thrown into the back of Steve's car, where he gets to listen to Steve request an ambulance. Steve might not like Billy- might hate him in fact- but he's bleeding all over the front lawn and looks like he's moments away from collapsing. 

Steve leaves Neil where he is and returns to the porch, where the others have clustered. The story comes out in pieces and with Max hanging onto his arm. 

"He hit Billy," Mrs. Hargrove says, wringing her hands. Her eyes water as she goes on. "He's always pushing him around and- and hurting him. I couldn't just stand there, not this time. I tried to step between them, but Neil didn't like that." She takes a deep breath, glances at where Billy is sitting on the steps, and plunges on. "Billy hit him while he was shouting at me and then they were fighting. I- I don't know, it happened really quickly after that." 

"They destroyed the living room," Max says softly. 

"Who called the police?" Billy asks, glaring at his feet. 

"One of your neighbors." Steve runs a hand through his hair and tries to gather his wits. "Alright, you're all going to have to come down to the station to file a police report. Hargrove, you're going to the hospital. I'll be by later." 

Billy tries to refuse, but Mrs. Hargrove gets the better of him. When the ambulance arrives, they load Billy up and Mrs. Hargrove decides to follow. Max looks between Mrs. Hargrove and Steve before finally trailing after her mom. Steve catches up in only a few strides and pulls her tight against his side. 

"It'll be fine." He assures her. "We can always drop him in the tunnels if worse comes to worse." 

"Can we do that anyway?" She asks. 

"We'll see." He tells her then hurries her along to the car. 

Neil Hargrove is taken to the station and locked up tight. Steve learns just how much he hates paper work. Billy and Susan both press chargers, though it takes a lot of coaxing and shouting to get them to agree. It's mostly Max that handles that part. Hopper calls in a favor that ends with Neil Hargrove going before a judge by the end of the week. The court appointed lawyer doesn't have a leg to stand on. 

A year doesn't seem like a lot of time at all. Steve hopes Neil Hargrove fucks up and earns himself more time in prison. It's what the bastard deserves. 

-

Billy Hargrove is still an asshole. Just... Not as much of one. 

Steve still hates his guts. 

-

It occurs to Steve one day that he's happy. He never really imagined a future where that would be the case. Even with Nancy, he had been more preoccupied with the present than some far of future. After Nancy- and after monsters- he had barely managed to imagine a future where he was alive, much less happy. But here he is. 

Is it weird to be happy about being happy? 

-

The universe has a sense of irony. Or would it be humor? Steve has never been good at English either way. 

-

Steve hardly pays attention to his bank account anymore. He still spends more than he should on the kids and on himself, but he's also making money now. He knows his parents are still putting money in, though he doesn't understand why. Maybe it's an automatic thing. 

Either way, the money hit his account like clockwork. Except it's about fifty times the normal amount. The joke, "is that my bill or my phone number," runs through his head as he stares at his bank statement. He calls the bank and gets the run around. He ends up having to go there in person. It's the bank manager that eventually sits him down to explain. 

The man stares at him with sad, pitying eyes. He has several pages of transaction information ready. He shows it to Steve as he explains where the money came from. Steve's eyes feel dry as he looks over it.

The man says, "this amount was from his life insurance policy," and, "this one was his retirement fund. You mom wanted you to have it." He points at another and says, "this is what he willed to you. Are you sure a lawyer hasn't been in touch?" 

Steve's eyes burn as he stares at the figure and wonders what he's going to do with it all. Steve could buy his own house several times over and still have enough to live on for the rest of his life. He could quit working for Hopper, could quit working all together if he wanted to. He had never realized just  _how_ rich his parents were. He had never really thought about money at all. It was just there and he had it and he never had to worry about it. 

He stares at the money and sees his father's life in numbers. He wonders if his father enjoyed making it, or if he was just always striving for a little more. Did his father enjoy his life at all? Had he been happy? 

God, it feels like he never knew the man at all. 

His finger runs over the printed number and he hates every single fucking penny of it. He asks the banker about investing, because that's what you ought to do. He remembers his mom teaching him that at some point or another. Steve gets shuffled around the bank for a while before he eventually signs a good chunk of the money away in hopes of making more money. He doesn't need it, doesn't really want it, but he might as well. He puts a majority of the rest in a savings account and gets in contact with someone to make a will. 

Making a will at eighteen seems incredibly morbid. The lawyer stares at him long and hard the entire time. She acts like he's contagious, like she might catch her death from him or maybe he'll ruin her rug by dropping dead in her office. Steve figures she has nothing to worry about. If anything's going to kill him, it's probably going to be a monster from the Upside Down.

He writes in names one after another, going down the line as he thinks of them instead of in alphabetical order. Dustin then Max then Lucas. He thinks about writing the Byers into one line, but instead gives them each their own. The same goes for the Hoopers and the Wheelers. Split among the ten of them, it's not enough to live on forever. Maybe a couple of years apiece, if they play their cards right. 

The whole process is reassuring in a way. At least he knows that if he kicks the bucket the next time a monster comes around his friends will be fine. Well, monetarily wise. 

-

He checks his answering machine when he gets home. There's only one message and it's from Joyce, asking him to make desert for Sunday. Steve listens to it twice, then erases it. It takes him nearly an hour to locate the number for his mom's office, the one in Sydney. He wonders if she even still works there. 

He can't remember the last time he talked to her. He can't remember the last time he talked to his  _dad._  A pressure builds up behind his eyes and he takes to doodling on the legal pad next to the phone. It's been a long time since he called internationally and it takes a lot longer than he remembers. Eventually someone answers. 

" _How may I help you?"_ A woman answers, her accent thick, and her voice tired. 

He wonders what time it is on that side of the world. 

"Can I speak to Jennifer Harrington?" 

" _Who? Oh, you mean Ms. McNeal._ _Can I ask who's calling?"_

McNeal? It felt like barely a day since his father died and she was already using her maiden name. How long had it really been? Steve closes his eyes and scratches out half his doodle. "Steve. Her son." 

" _I didn't know she had a son,"_ the woman muses out loud. 

Steve bites back the, "you're not the only one." 

" _Well, she's in a meeting right now. Do you want to leave a message?"_

Steve wonders what kind of message he could even leave that would do any of this justice. What is there even to say? Dad was dead and she couldn't even be bothered to call him. 

"You know what, never mind." Steve says instead and hangs up. He rips up the page with the number on it and throws away the pieces. They taunt him until he takes the trash out to the curb and leaves it there in the hopes that some neighborhood dog might tear it apart. 

-

Steve goes to a department store. He doesn't realize what he's doing until he's writing a check for a new skateboard. He buys a new coat for Max while he's at it. He buys a book about stars and a telescope for Lucas. For Will he gets a new sketch book and Jonathan a Polaroid camera he'll probably never use. Mike and Eleven get their own set of walkie-talkies and a box of board games. He gets Hopper a scrap-booking kit, mostly just to amuse himself. He buys Nancy an ACT prep book because he thinks she'll appreciate practical more than entertaining. He buys Joyce a new coffee pot and enough coffee to last the rest of the year. 

He blanks out when it comes to Dustin. He ends up buying a bunch of cat toys for Mews 2.0 and then he goes to the nearest electronic store. He guys an Atari and three extra controllers and every multiplayer game they have as well as a couple of interesting single player ones. He avoids anything that looks too creepy. It's been nearly a year- again- but he's not taking any chances. 

The lady in the shop stares at him when he dumps everything on the counter and he has to wait in the store while the woman calls the bank to make sure the check will clear. She ends up helping him take all his stuff out to his car and they load everything into the back. 

"It's a bit early for Christmas shopping, isn't it?" She asks with a smile. 

"It's not for Christmas," he says and doesn't look at her. He doesn't explain that he just wanted to use the money to make someone happy. 

She laughs and tucks some hair behind her ear. "I wouldn't mind seeing what you buy when you do go Christmas shopping." She flutters her lashes and Steve all but scrambles into his car. 

He ends up going to Dustin's house and his mom opens the door. Steve hands over the box of cat toys and watches with a smile as she squeals over it. The noise is so loud that Dustin comes flying out of his room wielding a hockey stick and a fight or die attitude. 

"Mom! You scared the shit out of me," Dustin shouts when he sees that nothing is murdering his mother. 

"Language!" She gasps and then forgets all about it. She takes the box over to the cat, lifting each one so Mews 2.0 can check it out. 

"Are you bribing my mom?" Dustin whispers out of the side of his mouth. 

Steve elbows him in the side playfully then runs back out to his car. It takes a bit of juggling, but eventually he manages to get everything in his arms and then into the house. Dustin stares at it and then him with wide, surprised eyes. He rushes forward, excited and loud. 

It's exactly what Steve needs at the moment. 

"Dude, did you rob a store or something? You realize you'd have to arrest yourself right?"  

"I didn't steal anything," he huffs, then shuffles some of the stuff into Dustin's arms. "Now help me plug this up. I want to try Pack-Man." 

It doesn't take Dustin long to hook it up and then they're sprawled in front of the TV. They go through a couple of games before they find one they can play together. Steve dies a lot but Dustin is a pro. Mrs. Henderson pets her cat and watches. She tries playing once, but ends up dying pretty quickly and passes the controller back to Steve. They play for close to an hour before Dustin suddenly stops. 

"This is too cool for just the two of us. We have to invite the others."  

Steve sits back while Dustin calls up his friends and gushes about the gaming console. When he's done he begs his mom to make dinner enough for eight. Mrs. Henderson makes enough Mac & Cheese to feed an army. As the kids filter in they stuff their faces and chug soft drinks. Max and Lucas get there first and prove that Steve is awful at video games. Max slaughters them all. Will gets dropped off by Jonathan, who stays long enough to play a round before leaving for a date with Nancy. Mike and El arrive together, Hopper leaving only after telling them all that he'll be back in an hour. 

Steve gives up his controller to El, watching as she quickly surpasses his measly abilities. The rest all take turns and the living room becomes crowded and noisy. They jostle each other and heckle, voices rising until Mrs. Henderson sets upon them with a spray bottle full of water. Steve laughs until she turns it on him as well. He wipes it away with his sweater sleeve and throws himself down on the couch. Steve watches as the kids- and god, they're mostly fourteen now- play the games. 

He's not sure what he's suppose to be feeling. He's not even sure what he  _is_ feeling. He's glad he's not alone though. He curls up on the couch and closes his eyes. 

The kids leave while he sleeps. One of the Hendersons throws a blanket over him and lets him stay. The next morning Steve calls in sick to work for the first time. 

-

"Are you okay?" Dustin asks on the second day.  

Steve still hasn't left. He doesn't know what Dustin thinks about that, but Mrs. Henderson has just accepted it. She's even dragged out the good blankets from somewhere. The cat has started sleeping on Steve's chest during the night.  Steve sits the phone back in the cradle and hopes that Hopper won't come looking for him. 

"Yeah," Steve says and tries to sound it. 

"Alright, dude." Dustin says doubtfully. "You're still coming to dinner at Mrs. Byers tonight, right?" 

For the first time, Steve hesitates. Everyone is expecting him though and Steve doesn't really have the heart to stay home. "Of course. We can ride over together." 

"Good." Dustin grins and pulls him off the couch. "Now let me kick your ass at this game." 

-

Steve forgets all about dessert and doesn't remember until he's standing on Joyce's front porch empty handed. 

"It's fine," she reassures him, pulling him inside. 

It doesn't feel fine. It feels like the end of the world. (And hey, Steve has personal experience to testify to what that feels like.) Steve spends all of dinner with his stomach twisting and guilt eating away at him. He pushes his food around his plate and doesn't speak unless someone speaks to him first. 

After dinner he stands by the sink and holds on the counter until his fingers go numb. Joyce runs the water until steam starts rising from it. There's idle chatter coming from the living room and the smell of pot roast still hangs in the air. Joyce starts washing dishes, hands going red and pruney in a matter of minutes. 

"Are you okay?" She asks quietly, looking up at him from where her hair has fallen limply around her face. 

Steve runs the towel over the plate and asks, "if someone dies, and you don't miss them, does that make you a bad person?" 

"Steve?" She asks, just as softly. 

Steve sits the plate on the counter and stares down at his hands. He blinks when they grow blurry but that just makes it worse. "I don't miss him." He whispers. "I don't miss him at all. He's dead and I don't feel anything." 

She lays her hand on his arm, still damp from the water. It's warm though and soaks through his sweater in a matter of seconds. When she speaks, her voice is tinged with alarm. 

"Steve, I need you to tell me exactly what happened. I can't help unless I know what's wrong." 

Steve drops his head and hunches his shoulders. He lets himself be maneuvered around so that he's facing her, but focuses on her shoes instead of on her face. It's easier that way. 

He swallows hard and something warm rolls down his face. "I don't know. I don't know anything. She couldn't even spare one fucking minute to call and tell me." He hugs himself, fingers fisting in his sweater. "Am I not even worth a phone call?" 

Joyce pulls him into her arms and he collapses against her. She rubs his back when his breath starts hitching and says soothing words that he doesn't understand. He clings to her and tries to pull himself back together. He doesn't know how long it takes, but he stops crying eventually. His head hurts and he just wants to sleep. 

"You are worth it, Steve." She says, running her fingers through his hair. 

"Then why didn't they ever come back?" He asks, tucking his face against her shoulder. He has to slouch to reach.

"I don't know. There's no accounting for stupidity." Joyce rocks him slightly and he feels like a child. "When was..." She trails off. 

"Four years ago." 

Her arms tighten around him. "They left you alone?" 

"I had Pearl for a little while but..." 

Joyce doesn't say, " _poor Steve Harrington."_ She doesn't say, " _you should have told someone."_ She doesn't ask, " _how long was a little while?"_

Instead, Joyce says, "you have us now. And we're not going anywhere." 

-

Steve doesn't finish drying the dishes. Joyce leads him into a bedroom- her's by the looks of it- and tells him to take a nap. She all but tucks him in. She leaves the door cracked and he can hear people talking in the living room. Steve pulls a pillow over his face and tries to squash out all the sounds. 

He falls asleep and only wakes up when someone tugs the pillow away. He squints into the darkness, but can't make out much. In the end he drifts back to sleep. 

-

Joyce wakes him up before she goes to work. "I'll be home in a few hours. You stay here until then, alright?" 

He's too tired to do anything but agree. 

Will comes and sits with him for a while before school. He doesn't say much, but neither does Steve. When Jonathan comes to collect him, he leaves some breakfast behind. He doesn't talk either, but they've never really had to. 

Steve sleeps fitfully in the empty Byers' house. Some time before lunch he gets up and goes to sit in the living room. He thinks about leaving but can't find his car keys. He turns on the TV and watches a bunch of mindless shit. At lunch, Hopper drops by with food. 

"How you holding up, kid?" He asks, pushing a bag of fast food at him. 

Steve tries to think about his answer. He's not sure how he is, not really. Breaking down on Joyce had not been the plan. He's not even sure where it came from. 

"I think I'm okay," Steve finally answers. It doesn't feel like a lie though it doesn't feel like the whole truth either. 

"Well, take it easy for a few days. We called Flo back in to cover for you, so don't worry about it." 

"Tell her not to get use to it." 

Hopper smiles, the first real one since he got here. "I'll tell her." 

Later, Nancy comes by. "You know they were wrong, right?" 

"What?" 

"To leave you alone like that." 

"Nance," Steve starts because this is a conversation he would rather avoid. 

"Alright, but I'm here if you ever want to talk about it, okay?"

Steve nods after a moment. "Yeah, I know," he tells her and means it. He tries to remember when she became his friend again, when all those messy feelings shifted. He can't pinpoint the moment.

"Good. Don't you forget it, Harrington." She gives him a half smile and Steve returns it. 

"Want to watch Jeopardy reruns?" 

"Sure, why the hell not?" Nancy asks and drops down on the couch next to him. 

She wins of course. 

-

The kids come in after school and plant themselves around him. They don't even let him get up and use the bathroom without demanding to know where he's going. It's mostly annoying, but Steve finds it just ever so slightly endearing. 

It's Max that brings it up. "You don't have to buy our company, you know." 

Steve frowns at her before he realizes they probably discovered his spending spree at some point. 

"Yeah, we'd like you even if you were broke," Dustin assures him, patting him hard on the shoulder. 

"You're a pretty cool guy," Will tells him. 

"Just cool?" Steve teases. 

"You might have fought monsters for us but you also cry during Bambi." Lucas points out, like he didn't cry through Bambi too. 

"You're good to us," Mike says to stave off a fight. 

"You're family," Eleven says and takes his hand in her. She stares at him with wide, expressive eyes. "Family sticks together." She says it like a promise. 

Steve hasn't had a family in a really long time. Not since Pearl left, not since his parents quit coming home. Part of him wonders if he can even  _do_ the family thing. But he loves these kids and they love him. If there's ever been a risk worth taking, it's this one. 

"Yeah," Steve agrees, squeezing her hand. "We're family." 

-

Steve goes back to work. After a few weeks he moves into a little house in the middle of town. Most of the kids live in easy walking distance, though that wasn't a deciding factor. He just likes the small, cozy rooms. There's no echos at all. 

October passes without incident and they all breathe easy for the first time in a year. Steve keeps the bats anyway. "Just in case," he tells himself. He's learned to live with the, "just in case," moments. 

His mom never calls him back, but he hadn't expected her to. He asks the bank to stop all incoming deposits from her. The bank manager talks to him personally, tires to talk him out of it, but Steve is insistent. He has more than enough. He doesn't want anything more from her. The money feels wrong anyway. He can't tell if it's an apology or a substitute. He doesn't want it, whatever it is. 

Sunday dinners resume. Steve remembers the pie this time. The dinners are loud and warm and eventually Steve remembers how to be happy again. 

Life goes on, as life often does. 

-

In another world, Pearl never leaves. Eventually his parents come home. Steve doesn't hate the silence of a big, empty house. He doesn't fight monsters, doesn't protect anybody, doesn't become better than he's been. In that world, Steve has a family that is hardly worth the name. 

But in this world Steve finds family in a group of children, in two parents that aren't his own, and in his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. He finds them and they find him. And Steve knows which family he'd die to protect, which one he'd fight to keep. Steve knows the lengths he'd go to for them. 

So if the universe ever decides it wants to take that as a challenge, that's fine by him.

Steve's ready for it. 

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I kinda imagine the poker scene going a lot like this one from  [Friends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szwqkXsaMaU). (Skip to 1:30)  
> 2\. They totally went to Denny's.  
> 3\. I have a lot of Steve feels and it got out of hand. I mostly just wanted to write a fic where Steve buys the kids a bunch of things and then this happened. I have done nothing but write this for 2 days lol. But yeah. Anyway. Hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> <3


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